ROANOKE, VA – For over a decade, RCPS+ has been a summer haven for students to learn and grow - but now it’s being replaced.
It’s leaving parents like Mellita Bruce wondering what their next steps are.
“It can be stressful in the summers,” Bruce said.
Bruce has a kindergartener and a first grader and was looking forward to sending them to RCPS+ for the first time this summer.
“I’m upset more that I never got to take advantage of that,” Bruce said.
RCPS+ was free and available to all K-8 students, making it a popular option.
“Last year, we were lucky to have the finances to be able to afford some summer camps. But this year, things are a little tight; I don’t know if we’re going to be able to spend the money on summer camps,” Bruce said.
It’s a change Chief Academic and Accountability Officer Cyndi Williams says the schools weren’t expecting to make.
“We initially applied for our original RCPS+ program with the state in August, and we found out late September that the proposal was denied,” Williams said.
The program was funded through the Virginia Department of Education grant money.
“They shared that the guidelines and the application has changed,” Williams said.
Those guidelines now require the program to focus on students with demonstrated academic needs.
“RCPS+ served any student K-8, but the new guidelines are through 3-8,” Williams said.
Enter the STAR program, or ‘Students Thriving and Rising.” The program was approved last week.
“We see our students as stars, and sometimes we need to support students in different ways, so we really want to uplift our students and provide additional academic support,” Williams said.
While Bruce says she understands targeted support for those grades is needed, it takes her kids out of the mix.
“As a mom of kids with elementary school students, we have to fall back on something else in the summer,” she said.
Williams says parents have other options within the school division.
And they are working to create more options for parents missing out on rcps plus.